The invention relates generally to storage and dispensing apparatus such as used, for example, in supermarkets, merchandising establishments and storage areas in recreation rooms. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an improved rack for storing and dispensing bottles or cans and other generally cylindrical shaped containers, that permits easy assembly and disassembly of the rack.
Storage and dispensing racks for cans and bottles are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,105,126 and 4,356,923, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describe storage and dispensing racks for dispensing cans or other cylindrical containers. These racks are designed to store and dispense containers which are supported on their sides so that they can roll down an inclined surface to the front of the rack where they are accessible to a customer or user.
The size and shape of some beverage containers makes it undesirable to support these containers on their sides and roll them down an incline. For example, it is not desirable to place glass containers on their sides and roll them to the front on an incline. To accommodate these containers, some storage and dispensing racks are designed to store and dispense containers in an upright position. To this end, these units typically utilize shelves which are inclined sufficiently to cause the container to slide in an upright position. Because of their high center of gravities, some bottles are difficult to dispense from these racks.
Moreover, typically these racks were not versatile. They were usually designed to achieve specific advantages and objects, and were designed to be used on a specifically inclined surface or shelf.